Hungary

In Hungary the Environmental Association Reflex and the Hungarian Climate Alliance announced the campaign „Kids on the move for climate” for the first time and it already was a great success.

The coordinator reported:

VAMOS – Act now! – The Hungarian Green Footprints Campaign

The Hungarian Climate Alliance announced the first Green Footprints Campaign in Hungary and it towered high above our expectations. 66 schools with 14.681 students applied for the campaign and the related action week.

The grammar school students beside collecting green footprints for their eco-friendly journeys, through some playful tasks were involved in the global environmental problems and the prospects of solving them.

During the green footprint week – between the 11th of April and 17th of April, 2011 – the students got a green footprint stamp every time they went to school in an eco-friendly way – on foot, by bike, skater, bus, train etc. One student could collect 10 green footprints at maximum (as there are five school days). The collected green footprints by the Hungarian children will be added to the green footprints collected europe-wide , which aims to show the "big ones", what the "small ones" do to protect the global climate. From the 14.000 children that applied for the campaign 7.685 students sent their green miles back, which means 67.467 miles. Allegorically the Hungarian children topped in walking around the World more than once.

Apropos of the campaign we enriched with good examples and positive experience. The schools that sent us their applications took the tasks seriously, and according their feedback and the photos they sent us, the students had a good time as well during the week. Although we asked for 10 drawings about the ecological footprint from every school, there was a school – with more than 400 students – that sent all the drawings of its students back. From the best footprints we are going to make up a travelling exhibition.

We asked the students to analyse their school and the surrounding area and find its weaknesses from climate protection aspects. There were some funny recommendations, but they revealed a number of real problems, that are worth considering by the school.

Taken all around we evaluate our campaign week entirely positively and the school representatives spoke of it in high terms as well. The 32 Declaration of intention on cooperation confirm this, in which the schools declared that they would like to cooperate with and participate in the further programmes of the Hungarian Climate Alliance.